"A new definition of karma - the meeting of Yoo Pilwha and Lee Kihyang"

The Buddha said, "Go alone, like the horn of a rhinoceros." Of course, for mere mortals, such a task is a weighty proposition. That's why people almost always search out a fellow traveler. The karma that brought together the pairing of Economics professor Yoo Pil-hwa and artist and professor Lee Kihyang workedin just such a way.

These two are reliable companions on the same journey, lovers, teachers and friends.

But the road of a seeker is never an easy one. As two scholars who leave distinct footprints in their own respective fields, their strong personalities can't help but bump up against one another from time to time. They smooth over the rough patches through mutual respect and trust, with a wisdom that sublimates their energy for the benefit of the other. It's here they find their mutual journey of true happiness. Professor Yoo has made himself a name in the world of Korean academia. He has become a topic of conversation for being the rare Asian scholarwho has published a book on economics in Germany. Up until the 20th century, it has been primarily Western economics scholars who have led the world's economy. As a result, there is a certain arrogance in their scholarship, and so it was to these scholars that Professor Yoo addressed his book where he wanted to introduce what he haslearned about "the Buddha's wisdom of management."This book, Wisdom of Management, We Can Learn from the Buddha, based on the spiritual culture of Buddhism, brought a fresh shock to a world of economics that had heretofore focused entirely on Western society andeconomic structures. Venturing out into a field where nobody else had gone is never easy, but like the horn of a rhinoceros, he stood alone and carried on with his research.

Another Pioneer, Joyfully Walking a Similar Path, Professor Lee Kihyang

Professor Lee has created her own unique world of art fashion using the folk lore of Buddhism and the colors and textures of Asia. Though on first glance, her work may be mysterious and magical to those accustomed to the clarity and boldness of Western beauty, in time, a few became true aficionados andeventually, she has created an army of admirers. As Lee ventures out boldly, like "the horn of a rhinoceros," others will come to follow her footsteps, until a new group of rhinos is formed. However, creativity is to the one who possesses it a sure sign of great struggles ahead. It's a path you must accept as if it's your eternal fate, like a great pain inside that must be expunged, even if you have to open a deep crevice inside your own mind. In this respect, Yoo and Lee are most unique.

Both of them were born into wealthy families and received the finest educations. They felt that their decisions to set out on the paths of pioneers when others have refused is certainly due to their Buddhist-related karma. “I met him as a result of his mother's choosing. Mustn't this have been Buddha's intention? Wasn't she someone sent to me by the Buddha?"

Professor Lee wasn't a Buddhist at that time, however. In fact, she used to think of Buddhism as something old-fashioned and out-of-touch. As she went on with her studies in fashion and earned a position as a professor at Hansung University, she began to wonder how the Buddhist culture that had gained her attention would relate to her work.

Then she traveled to India. As she made her pilgrimage through the dry, sand-whipped winds, she came upon some Indians crusted in dirt, hanging fabrics from a tree as they prayed to Buddha. As someone with an interest in textiles, she couldn't help but be transfixed by such a sight. Then when the guide suddenly said, "the rustically colored clothes are those people's minds," she came to feel the great energy of their pure minds, rustic as they might have been. It was Buddha's presence, right there. From that point on, she didn't notice the filth ontheir faces, but instead saw the deep, bright power in their doe-like eyes. She also thought of the man who had led her here to India, her husband Professor Yoo. Watching her now, as she speaks with such passion, Yoo just smiles.

The artist wife, the economic Ph.D husband

So we have this wife who saw Buddhist culture as outdated, and this husband who was a devout Buddhist. That these two seemingly different people would meet must be due to their karma, no? A karma possessed of someone's sincere wish. Though both engaged in such different fields of work, when you come to know them, you see that theirs is truly a singular task.

" Be silent as a mute,

And speak like a king,

Cool as snow and burning like fire,

Possessed of the confidence of a great mountain,

Lowering oneself like bent grass,

Enduring and overcoming adversity,

And most wary when everything seems to be going your way"

Professor Yoo found these words of the Buddha from theSaṃyukta-ratna-piṭakaSutra when looking for some wisdom to depart to managers who aresearching for the right attitude when business is going roughly. Finding such pearls of wisdom amidst the Buddha's teachings is the life mission of Professor Yoo, a man who stands pre-eminent in the Korean world of corporate management and marketing.

“I'm searching for a 21st century management paradigm within the human centered philosophies of traditional Asian thought and Buddhism. The West can already feel the limits of Western style capitalism and their paradigm of corporate management. As we all know, up until now, Koreans have been blindly following the West instead of developing our own management style, such that we too now sense these same limits. As a result, both owners and employees are crushed bythe stress of unbridled competition and the pressure to succeed. From the Three Kingdom period on, our nation's spirit has been rooted in Buddhism. Buddhist culture has been our nation's culture. So we must discover a corporate management model that meshes properly with our underlying spiritual culture."

Like the saying "it is soft things that are most strong," I could sense his steely intellectual resolve, full of certainty, rooted in a soft and humble voice.

"My effort is simply to get us to stop looking outward, and instead turn our eyes within to find a corporate management style that is suitable to ourselves. As I stated in my book's preface, I wonder what the Buddha might say were he to read this. . . I think he might smile."

If we were to say that the Buddhist inspiration in Professor Yoo was captured through his keen, sharp eye, might we say that Professor Lee found the Buddha's inspiration blooming within an elegant appreciation of beauty? Nowadays she is full of excitement and anticipation as a fashion exhibition showcasing her designs is slated to be held in Germany this June. There she will display her art-to-wear and tapestries featuring Buddhist images. Many people in Korea have already been mesmerized by the unique quality of her clothing crafted with silk and stencils. Most notable will be a huge tapestry featuring the 12 Asian signs of the zodiac. This piece seems to breathe with life, steeped with humanity, and an Asian expression of imagination, symbolizing each individual's personality, each person's fate through these diverse animals. It is indeed a unique Asian expression of beauty.

Lee offers that, "the truth of Buddhism has been difficult to pass on to the public, given that it's weighted down with an image of being old-fashioned and out-of-date in Korea these days. I figured it would be most meaningful if I could transform the image of Buddhism to make it more attractive to the general public while ensuring that its core principles remained intact."

These two who, at first, differed greatly in what they did, how they lived, and even in how they looked, have now come to resemble each other quite a lot. Some have said that the meaning of love is "to be looking in the same direction." But while merely looking in the same direction may perhaps be enough to be called "love," in this case, where two people are walking in the same direction, with a strong resolve and mutual trust, their mature relationship and their invariable determination to pass on the teaching of Buddha is something more. Their relationship is something that gives rise to the Buddha's infinite compassion and love.

Such a thing must surely be what is called a karmic connection.

by Oh Mi-sun

Photography by Kim Hyoo-keun

Captions:

Dragons are imaginary animals. With a stag's horns, a camel's head, a rabbit's eyes, a snake's neck, a clam's stomach,a carp's scales, an eagle's claws, a tiger's paws, and a cow's ears, the dragon is a symbol of power.

Words symbolize the masculine, possessing a divine meaning. They possess the special quality of being active, sharp and keen.